By Odo Ogenyi, Uyo
The Akwa Ibom House of Assembly yesterday passed the state’s Appropriation Bill of N700B for the 2023 fiscal year into law.
The Bill is made up of N344.005B for recurrent expenditure and N355.995B for capital expenditure.
The proposed Bill, which represent an increase of 0.4% of the initial proposed budget of N697B, followed the report of the Hon. Uduak Odudoh-led House Committee on Finance and Appropriation.
The report recalled that,“at the 8th Sitting of the Fourth Session of the Seventh Assembly on Monday, November 7, 2022, Governor Udom Emmanuel presented his Budget address to the Honourable House.
After a fruitful clause-by-clause deliberation at the Committee of the Whole and Supply, members unanimously accepted the report and the Appropriation Bill was subsequently passed into Law.
House Speaker, Aniekan Bassey, who presided over the plenary, directed the Clerk of the House, Mrs. Mandu Umoren, to communicate the position of the House to the Executive Governor for assent.
In another development, the House received a Report on the Amendment of the Standing Orders of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly (Sixth Edition).
The Report was presented by the Chairman of the house committee on Rules, Business, Ethics and Privileges, Barrister Otobong Bob (Nsit Ubium).
The proposed amendment centered on Opening Prayers, Members/Officers/Sitting of the House, arrangement of public business and the establishment and jurisdiction of committees of the House.
